Vampire Academy LISSA POV
by BBSweetie
Summary: We've heard Rose's tale. But what about Lissa? How did she feel when she saw Christian for the first time? How did she feel when she saw the animals? How did she feel when Victor kidnapped her? I've added in some of my own stuff too, so it'll be brand new from Lissa's point of view!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! So, for my followers, I know that you were expecting something different. But as I was writing Princess Rose, I realized something. I have not fucking idea how a Moroi thinks! So, I'm going to prepare myself by writing Vampire Academy in Lissa's point of view, so that I don't completely fuck up Princess Rose, when I get around to writing it. I hope you like this story, because I really do too!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns all. This disclaimer applies to all chapters throughout this story.**

Chapter 1

_FLASHBACK_

_"Eh, Rose, so is it true about you and Greg Sanders gettin' it on last winter break?" Andre, my older brother, asked my best friend Rose from the seat next to mine. I was in the middle because these two idiots couldn't sit next to each other without swingin' on the other._

_ "Andre, now is not the time for that kind of language!" My mother, Rhea, said from the passenger seat. _

_ "Is it true that you slept with Meredith and drank from her last weekend without her consent?" Rose retorted. I groaned involuntarily. _

_ "Andre Eric Dragomir, is this true? You slept with and drank the blood of a dhampir without permission?" Rhea exclaimed, shocked that her oldest son could commit such a crime. If only she knew._

_ "Honey, just let it go. It was just kids having fun." My father, Prince Eric of the Dragomir family, said to mom. She shook her head and that was the end of it. Rose was smiling smugly next to me and I shook my head. She caught my eye and winked._

_ Suddenly, mom shrieked from the front seat and the car swerved._

_ "Eric!" She yelled as our car dove off of the road. Andre was yelling from next to me and Rose was screaming. I deftly heard a louder scream and realized it was mine. _

_ "Andre! Rose!" I screamed and suddenly I felt Rose's body on top of mine, shielding me from the coming impact. I felt our car hit something huge, and it was as if we were being lifted off the ground._

_ "ANDRE! ROSE!"_

"Liss. Lissa, wake up." I opened my eyes slowly to see Rose's face looming over mine.

"It's okay Liss, it's okay. You aren't there anymore." She started to rock my gently back and forth, smoothing my hair down my back. That was the car accident that killed my family and changed my life forever. Rose and I were the only survivors of that fateful day. Rose wasn't supposed to survive, but by some miracle she did, and we've been bonded ever since. Literally. She could feel my emotions and sometimes slip into my head if she wanted to. But I couldn't feel hers, so it was minorly annoying.' "I had that dream again." I whispered in a small voice.

"Yeah. I know." She said. Of course she knew. She had probably been having the same dream because of the bond. She leaned over and turned on the lamp and I turned to face her. Her eyes studied my face carefully, and I looked at her with a sad expression in my eyes. That sad expression hadn't faded away for the two and a half years it had been since the accident.

"When did we last do a feeding?" She asked me, and I felt guilt overwhelm me. I didn't like putting her through that. It left her so weak, and I really didn't mind going without blood for awhile. But I needed it to survive. That's what I was. A vampire, but I'll get more into that later.

"It's been like…more than two days, hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say anything?" Her hand was on my shoulder and again I felt that guilt sweep over me again, mingling with my sadness. All I could do was shrug in answer. I couldn't even meet her eyes.

"You were busy. I didn't want to—" She cut me off with a shake of her head.

"Screw that." She shifted on the bed and my eyes widened. I could go a little longer, I wanted to scream at her. But as usual, I could never truly display anger in my features.

"Come on. Let's do this." She said. She tilted her head and lifted her hair back so her neck was visible. I had to look away, otherwise the temptation would be too much.

"Rose—"

"Come _on. _It'll make you feel better." She said. Suddenly, the smell of her blood was too much. I looked to her neck and an overall feeling of hunger swept through me. I wanted the blood contained in her arteries. I _needed_ it. I leaned my head towards her neck and my fangs bit into her. The sweet taste of her blood filled my mouth and the weakness I had been feeling disappeared entirely. She moaned in pleasure from the endorphins that my bite was giving her. It wasn't sexual, but I knew that people being bitten enjoyed the sensation very much.

When I pulled back, she collapsed on the bed and put a hand to her head. I instantly felt guilty all over again.

"You okay?" I asked her. She was very much not okay.

"I…yeah." She mumbled and I bit my lip concernedly. This was exactly what I was trying to avoid.

"I'm going to get you something to eat." I told her and she mumbled incoherently. Biting my lip again, I walked downstairs to the kitchen in search of some cookies and orange juice, the perfect remedies for blood loss.

I suppose I should probably explain. In my world, there are three kinds of creatures separate from humans. Dhampir, Moroi, and Strigoi. I am Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir, princess of the Dragomir family and the only person left. After my family died, the princess title went to me because I was the only one left of the Dragomirs. I am a Moroi, basically a good vampire. I can go out in the sun, but after a while it makes me extremely uncomfortable. And I need to drink blood, but I can sustain on other items for longer periods of time. When I drink, I do not kill. I simply take what I need and I'm done. As a Moroi, I have control over one of the four elements. At a certain age, Moroi go through a process called specializeing, where they gain control of an element instead of a very low control over all four. Unfortunately, I haven't specialized yet but Rose tells me that it'll shoot up any day now. Strigoi are basically the exact opposite of Moroi. They cannot go out in the sun, and they kill when they drink. They also don't have magic, and they are immortal.

Rose is a dhampir. That means she is half human, half Moroi. Rose's mother is a very well known guardian named Janine Hathaway, who is guardian another royal Moroi like me somewhere in the world. Rose's mother dropped her off at the Academy when she was four years old, and Rose has hardly seen her since. Dhampir's train in academies to become guardians, so that they can protect Moroi like me from the Strigoi. Dhampirs cannot mate with other dhampirs, and if they mate with a human, their offspring is human. So, the only way for the dhampir's to survive is to hook up with Moroi, which is why they protect.

That's what Rose would have been doing if we hadn't run away from St. Vladimir's Academy two years ago. Now, we were seniors in Portland and living in our own dorm, constantly living on the run away from a place we had grown up in our entire lives.

"Hey, Lissa, how's it going?" Jeremy, or dorm neighbor said cheerily. I smiled and waved and got some orange juice for Rose. I heard loud clomping on the steps and turned to look at Rose herself stumbling down.

"You shouldn't be up." I said to her with surprise.

"We have to go. Now." She said. My eyes widened in fear. They had found us. The academy had found us.

"Are you…really? Are you sure?" She nodded. We both noticed Jeremy looking at us curiously.

"What's wrong?" He asked. I felt bad for what I knew I was about to do.

"Liss, get his car keys." Rose said and I sighed and nodded. Turning to face Jeremy, I looked him dead in the eyes. Compulsion was something that all vampires possess, but it was strongly looked down upon. I happened to be very good at it. I knew that Rose would take care of us. She would get us out of here. I smiled at Jeremy, and enthralled him with my gaze. Soon, I saw the familiar glazed over look in his eyes, and knew that my compulsion was working.

"We need to borrow your car. Where are your keys?" I asked in a gentle voice. He handed me them immediately and I smiled.

"Great. And where is it parked?"

"Down the street." He said dreamily. "At the corner. By Brown." I knew that that was four blocks away, but I also knew that Rose would get us there. She always came through for me.

"Thank you. As soon as we leave, I want you to go back to studying. Forget you ever saw us tonight." He nodded and I released him from my spell.

"Come on. We've got to move." Rose said and I walked outside with her. She was still weak from the blood loss, so I helped her walk by having her lean mostly on me. There was so much anxiety flitting through my mind right now, I could hardly think straight.

"Rose…what are we going to do if they catch us?" I whispered. I was so afraid right now, it was a wonder I could keep both of us upright.

"They won't. I won't let them." She said fiercely. I knew that she would try her hardest to keep us safe, but what if that wasn't enough?

"But if they've found us—" She cut me off with a shake of her head. It was a sign of her true strength that she wasn't falling over right now.

"They found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just drive over to the train station and go to LA. They'll lose the trail." She made it sound so simple, and I was naïve enough to believe her. We had been running from them for two years, and we had both though that living on a college campus for our senior year was safe. We were both wrong. I knew that she would keep us safe though. She had never let me into danger before, and I knew that she would protect us both with her life.

We had been best friends since kindergarten, when our teacher had made us spell our names to each other. Forcing two 5-year-olds to spell Rosemarie Hathaway and Vasilisa Dragomir was beyond cruel. I had sat there glumly, while Rose had thrown the book at the teacher. We'd been inseperable ever since.

All of a sudden, I heard something. With being a Moroi comes some pretty cool super senses, so it was easy to hear the speeding footsteps heading towards us.

"Do you hear that?" I asked her and I saw her grimace. The guardians were catching up to us. Fast. And I was pretty sure we still had a ways to go.

"We've got to run for it." She said, grabbing my arm and pulling me away.

"But you can't—" She was still really weak from the blood loss. This was all my fault.

"_Run._" She towed me away and we ran steadily to the car that was now in sight. The footsteps behind us got faster as we did. We had to make it. Rose would keep us safe.

Suddenly, a very tall man stepped in front of us, and Rose jerked me to a halt. She stepped in front of me and I grabbed her arm fearfully. What was going to happen now?

"Leave her alone! Don't touch her!" Rose growled and I tried to pass calming waves to her through the bond. It wasn't compulsion exactly, but it was pretty close. The man took a step forward and Rose braced for the attack. She was going to get herself killed!

"I'm not going to—" Before he could finish his sentence, Rose lunged. She was too weak to proceed with that move, and the man knocked her to the ground, but caught her before she fell int eh same instance. They looked at each other and I knew that there was no escaping now.

Rose back toward me again, still willing to protect me even if there was no hope. That was the kind of person she was. She would always put me first, even if it might cost her own life.

"Rose." I said. "Don't." I used those same calming waves and at last she sagged in defeat. The man relaxed as well.

"My name is Dimitri Belikov." He said with a faint Russian accent. "I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, princess."

**Did you like it? Let me know!**

**Please review, it makes me really happy!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyyyyy. So, I haven't recieved any reviews yet. Like nada, zip zilch. I would really love them! They make me write better!**

Chapter 2

They had separated Rose and I almost immediately after we got on board the plane to Montana, where the academy was.

"Don't let them talk to each other," Guardian Belikov said, "Five minutes together and they'll come up with an escape plan." Rose had stormed off down the aisle and I was left alone. I wanted Rose near me. She was my strength, and she always knew what to do. Damn this one way bond. I couldn't help but be afraid. The last time we were there people had been following me. They couldn't really take us back there, could they? Rose will get us out, she always does.

Guardian Belikov took the seat next to me and I saw him looking at me out of the corner of my eye. I was terrified of what would happen when we got back there. Did he care about us? About what would happen once we got back?

"Princess, we are not here to hurt you," Guardian Belikov said. I knew he wasn't there to hurt me, but whatever was back at the academy was. He couldn't understand that, but Rose did.

"I know." I whispered, feeling very small and afraid.

"Then why run? Why would you leave, if you know that we are there to protect you?" He asked, turning to me, searching my eyes for answers. I couldn't answer him, so I turned my head away and blinked back tears from my eyes. I heard him sigh before getting up and trading places with another guardian. He was probably going to go interrogate Rose now.

When we landed, they whisked us away in one of their military styled SUVs and Guardian Belikov sat in between Rose and I. He was so tall that with every bump, his head hit the ceiling of the car, but Rose and I were too dejected to laugh. When the car pulled up to the Academy's gates, my fear grew ten times stronger and I met Rose's eyes. She gripped my hand in reassurance, even if she had to reach over Guardian Belikov.

The school looked the same, sprawling and gothic. We were big on tradition; nothing ever changed with us. This school wasn't as old as the ones back in Europe, but it had been built in the same style. The buildings boasted elaborate, almost churchlike architecture, with high peaks and stone carvings. Wrought iron gates enclosed small gardens and doorways here and there. After living on a college campus, I had a new appreciation for how much this place resembled a university more than a typical high school.

As we walked into the main part of the upper school, Rose ran towards us and started talking avidly to Guardian Belikov. I looked around at all the things that we had left behind. I saw in the distance the elementary campus where Rose and I had first met, and the Moroi dorms of which I would soon again occupy.

"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit—" I overheard Rose say and I caught her eye with a look that said,_ Don't start something_. She looked ahead to the large double doors and I realized why she didn't finish her sentence. We were being led straight into the commons, where Moroi and Dhampir ate food. And it was breakfast time.

Novice guardians like Rose and Moroi like me sat together, eating and socializing, faces alight with whatever current gossip held the Academy's attention. When we entered, the loud buzz of conversation stopped instantly, like someone had flipped a switch. Hundreds of sets of eyes turned towards us. I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks with embarrasement. What did these people think of us? Rose turned and shot me a sympathetic look. Also, I noticed Guardian Belikov looking back and forth between us with a frown on his face.

I looked back around to see that things hadn't changed. Camille Conta was still the leader of the Academy's royal cliques. Natalie Dashkov, my royal cousin, watched us with wide, innocent eyes. I gave her a small smile and she hesitantly smiled in return. I looked again and saw my ex-boyfriend Aaron. He was still as cute as before, but I had never really liked him. I only went out with him because he was royal and I needed to be a princess. Like Andre would have done. His eyes followed my every move, even after I turned away from all their stares. What really hurt me was that a little Moroi girl, non-royal, was hanging on Aaron's arm and shooting death glares at me. What had I ever done to her?

We entered Headmistress Kirova's office, and thankfully left all of those stares and gawks behind. She hadn't changed since I remembered. She had a sharp nose and gray hair, and she was tall and slim like most Moroi. I cast a sympathetic glance at Rose. Headmistress had never really liked her because Rose was always getting into trouble.

Most of the guardians left us, and I couldn't help but feel more relieved. Only Guardian Petrov, captain of the guards, and Guardian Belikov stayed. They took up their guarding positions along the wall, looking very solemn with their guardian masks on, just as they were supposed to be. When I looked at Headmistress she had just opened her mouth when a deep and gentle voice that I knew well interrupted her.

"Vasilisa." Prince Victor Dashkov said from the corner in the room. He rose with great care from his chair and I ran to him. He was my only true family left after the accident.

"Uncle." I whispered. It felt so good to see him, to hug him. I held back tears and hugged him tighter. I felt him pat my pack gently.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa." I smiled and looked at him with love. Then I noticed how frail he looked. Before we left, he had been sick, but not this bad. He was Natalie's father, and he was only about forty. But, he looked twice that age. Pale, whithered, hands shaking. It didn't seem fair that Uncle Victor be cursed with this disease that had stopped him from becoming king.

With a cough, Headmistress made me return to my seat, and I let go of Uncle Victor reluctantly. He smiled kindly before sitting down as well, looking very run down and tired.

"You girls should have known better! You have a responsibility to hold to the Moroi world and you completely disgraced that! Such reckless behavior is highly looked down upon…" I tuned her out and stared at my hands sadly. I knew that she was right in a sense, but we had to leave. They just wouldn't understand. When the conversation went back to Rose, I listened.

"You, Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a Moroi. It is great trust. A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here. The Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs; _you_ nearly enabled them to do that." I couldn't help but be angry with her. But, despite my unease, I spoke in a clear and calm voice.

"Rose didn't kidnap me." I said. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her." Kirova growled in her throat and started to pace the room.

"Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the entire plan for all I know, but it was still _her_ responsibility to make sure you didn't carry them out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she'd have kept you safe." At this point in time, Rose snapped.

"I did do my duty!" She shouted, jumping from her chair. "I did keep her safe when none of _you_" She swept her arms around the room "could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to." I tried sending her calming messages, urging her to not let the anger get the best of her. But, I knew it was too late.

"Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you're not telling us?" Rose looked down at the floor, and I knew she didn't trust these people with our secret yet.

"I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left—aside from the novelty of it, no doubt—was to avoid consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance."

"No, that's not—"

"And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."

"I…what?" Rose had a stricken look that I had never seen before on her face. I stood up in outrage.

"You can't do that! She's my guardian." I tried to make her see reason, but to no avail.

"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice."

"But, my parents—"

"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave." I stared at Headmistress. She couldn't take Rose away from me. She couldn't.

Headmistress and Rose bickered, but I tuned out again. Rose was my best friend. She had always protected me, and we had stuck together through thick and thin. Headmistress couldn't take her away from me. Suddenly, a Russian accent moved the noise and everything went silent.

"They have a bond." Guardian Belikov's low voice broke the tension and we all turned to him. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling, don't you?" Guardian Belikov asked Rose. They held each other's gaze and Headmistress looked back and forth in between then them frantically.

"No…that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."

"It's obvious," he said. "I suspected as soon as I started watching them." Rose broke Guardian Belikov's gaze and I was too stunned to answer him.

"That is a gift," murmured Uncle Victor from his corner. "A rare and wonderful thing."

"The best guardians always had a bond," added Guardian Belikov. "In the stories."

Headmistress turned angry once again. "Stories that are centuries old! Surely you aren't suggesting that we let her stay at the Academy after everything she has done?"

The guardian shrugged. "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she potential—"

"Wild and disrespectful?" Rose interrupted, and I groaned inwardly. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?"

"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," said Headmistress. "Her _sanctioned_ guardian."

"You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?" I repressed the urge to smack my forehead. Rose and her big mouth. Headmistress though the same, because she threw up her hands in exasperation.

"You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and _very_ raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian."

"So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back and get her training again.

"Impossible. She'll be hopelessly behind her peers."

"Then give her extra training sessions."

"Who's going to put in the extra time? You?" demanded Headmistress.

"Well, that's not what I—" Headmistress crossed her arms in satisfaction.

"Yes. That's what I thought."

Guardian Belikov looked back and forth between us. My blonde hair was sticking to my face with sweat, and Rose didn't look that much better. We either looked like two pathetic lost souls, or two runaways who broke out of a high-security facility and robbed a bank.

"Yes." He said finally. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra training session long with her normal ones."

"And then what?" retorted Headmistress angrily. Could this woman never be happy? "She goes unpunished?"

"Find some other way to punish her," Guardian Belikov answered. "Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. Especially a girl." Uncle victor rose again shakily.

"I agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent."

Headmistress stared out her window, and I decided to try a little compulsion. It worked better when she was looking at me though. "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay." I worked my compulsion carefully and gradually began to see the change in her demeanor. Finally, she sighed.

"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be." She turned to face Rose and I pressed down an urge to jump in delight. Rose was going to stay with me! "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line once, and you're gone. You will attend all required classes and training with novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment that you have—before and after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this and you will be sent…away. You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest that you don't let your attitude change it."

I sent Rose encouraging message through the bond, and I hoped she could read them. At long last, she took a deep breath and looked at Headmistress dead in the eye.

"Fine. I accept."

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey people. I'm seriously not sure if anyone is reading this or not. No one is reviewing. I'm being so kind as to give you two chapters in one night. But, I don't know if I should continue, seeing how I don't know if anybody is reading or not. Please review, or I might just stop...**

Chapter 3

They unfortunately sent Rose and I straight to class after the meeting. I wasn't sure where they sent Rose, but from the look she gave me before we left, she was going to be keeping tabs on me. I had found the bond a little invading at first, but after two years I've come to accept it. Now, I was glad that Rose could read me. It just furthered our friendship now, instead of hindering it.

They sent me to a guidance counselor first. She was a pretty young and very friendly Moroi. She was probably brand new and hadn't heard the stories about Rose and I. Oh well, at least I didn't get one of the old and boring ones like I'm sure Rose is to have. She always was stuck with the short end of the stick.

She asked me about my life and what classes I had taken in Chicago and Portland. Comparing those against my old file, she carefully wrote down a new schedule for me. The meeting only lasted about five minutes, but I was glad she had taken the time to cast in my interests. I took my schedule with a smile and headed to my first class.

_1rst Period Russian 2_

_ 2__nd__ Period American Colonial Literature_

_ 3__rd__ Period basics of Elemental Control_

_ 4__th__ Period Ancient Poetry_

_ LUNCH_

_ 5__th__ Period Animal Behaviour and Physiology_

_ 6__th__ Period Advanced Calculus_

_ 7__th__ Period Moroi Culture 4_

_ 8__th__ Period Slavic Art_

The Academy's school day seemed longer than I remembered. When we arrived, the reactions of my peers indicated anything but. Most of the Moroi in this room looked straight to me and fell silent when I entered. I really wished Rose was here. At the Academy, Dhampir and Moroi took separate classes in the morning, and mixed in the afternoon. So, this class was mainly made up of snobby royal cliques that I had once been apart of.

"Oh, look, it's the baby princess finally come back home." The girl from the commons with the blonde ringlets sneered while hanging onto Aaron's arm.

I sighed reluctantly and looked around for a familiar face. Spotting Natalie, I smiled hesitantly and she waved me over.

"Hey." She whispered as the conversations around us slowly went back to normal.

"Hey." I said back. This kind of shocked me, because Natalie usually loved to talk, if I could remember correctly.

"So, you're finally back, huh? For good this time?" She asked tentatively. We hadn't really been the best of friends before I left, but she was still my cousin so we had been kind of close.

"Yeah. I'm back for good." I said with a smile. I wasn't so sure about that, but I couldn't really let Natalie into our plans. She had the biggest Moroi mouth on campus.

"That's great! Because, you know, after you left everyone was really shocked, like, how could the Dragomir princess run away? Some people though Rose kidnapped you, but I knew better than that. No, there had to be a better reason right? I mean c'mon…" I ended up tuning her out as I always did, until our teacher, Ms. Oksana, entered the room.

She started us off with Russian conjugates that I had only studied for a little while in Portland. I must have looked completely lost, because Natalie handed me her notes to look off of.

"How much of this do you know?" She whispered. I had a guilty look on my face and shook my head and she smiled sympathetically. She helped me suffer through the hour long class and managed to divert the teachers attention away from us, for which I was grateful.

"Actually, you didn't do that bad." Natalie said as we walked to American Colonial Literature, which I was glad she was taking as well.

"Really? I did terrible! It's a wonder she didn't call me out in the middle of class!" I guffawed at her.

"Well, it had been two years, and you said you didn't really take much of this when you were on the run, but you did know some of it."

"Well, thanks. And I can only get better, right?" I said halfheartedly.

"Yeah. But, I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but how on earth are you going to pass your final?" Natalie asked as we sat down in desks. Thankfully, that girl wasn't in this class. I didn't really find interest in this subject, and from my guesses no one did, so that explained why I was in it last minute.

"I'll find a way to manage somehow. But I have to graduate with everybody else. Especially Rose."

"So, you do still follow her around like a little puppy dog." A new voice said from behind us. I turned and met eyes with Jesse Zeklos, another snobby royal in Camille's clique.

"She's my best friend." Was my only answer. I wasn't as good with comebacks as Rose was.

"Ha, she seems more like your trainer. You could do so much better, Lissa. Why don't you come and hang out with the real royals?" Jesse taunted, eyeing Natalie. Although Natalie was from a royal family, she didn't really hang out with their crowd. Natalie turned her eyes towards her paper sorrowfully.

"I like who I'm friends with, thank you." I said to him primly. I didn't get annoyed very easily, so it meant something when he could provoke me as easily as he was.

"Whatever, _Princess_. Just remember that people never say no to the royals. You'll be one of us again, I know it." Jesse said before turning back to the teacher. That was a threat if I ever heard one, but I decided to ignore it. I didn't want to worry Rose so I worked on calming down my emotions. Jesse never really meant anything he said, so this was probably nothing as well. No need to make her angry with him.

This class wasn't as bad as Russian, particularly since it was a pretty standard class and I had taken it in Chicago. I still needed Natalie's help on some things, but not many. The one thing I did pay attention to was Jesse and his friends snickering quietly and shooting me looks every now and then. It seemed as if this was going to go on forever until thankfully the bell rang.

The next two classes passed by easily. My 3rd period class, elemental basics was a sophomore class that I had already taken some of before we ran away. So, it was pretty easy. On my way to the common room, I spotted an old friend of mine, Mason Ashford, and smiled. He smiled too and ran up to fall in to step beside me.

"Hey, Princess." He said and I shot him a look.

"Mase, you know I hate that." He smiled cheekily and I shook my head.

"How was your first day?" He asked politely. It was true that we had been friends, but he was definitely more Rose's friend than mine.

"Not over yet. How did Rose do this morning?" I asked him. He would have had the same classes since he was also a dhampir.

"Eh, she got her ass handed to her, but I'm sure she'll get better." He said, trying to recover. I frowned. Poor Rose, she hated to lose.

"Hey, so, what was it like? Being on the run?"

"It was…okay. It's not like Strigoi came after us or anything." He nodded and something told me he already knew that.

"Rose said that the school sent psi-hounds once, is that true?" He asked and I nodded and the expression of awe on his face grew bigger. Psi-hounds were one of the many types of magical creatures that wandered the world, creatures that humans never knew about or never believed they'd seen. The hounds traveled in packs and had a sort of psychic communication that made them particularly deadly to their prey.

"Did you guys face anything else?" He asked excitedly. I'm sure he loved eating up the juicy gossip.

"Just little things." I said and his gaze got a little dimmer when he found no more big obstacles to face. The only other one had been Guardian Belikov's attack, and we all know how that one ended up.

"Is it true that you and Rose have a bond?" Mason blurted out. I turned to him in surprise and halted my steps.

"How do you know about that?" I asked, shocked.

"Well, Eddie decided to put his ear to the door when you guys had your little meeting with Kirova. He heard what Belikov said and then passed it on to me and a few others. It wouldn't surprise me if everybody knew by now." Mason said, embarrassment clouding his features.

"But, hey, it's really a good thing! There's a bunch of stories about guardians being really good when they had the bond and stuff. She'll always be able to see when you're in danger!" He said. I nodded and kept walking swiftly. I wasn't sure how I felt about our bond being common knowledge.

"But, it doesn't work two ways right?" He asked, after finally catching up to me.

"Right. I can't feel her, but she can always feel me." His eyes shown with wonder again.

"How did it happen?"

"I don't know. It happened about two years ago." Mason frowned thoughtfully.

"That's right near the accident right?" He asked and I looked away. I did not want that being brought up. Twisted metal. Me screaming for Rose to wake up. Screaming for my family to wake up. Rose and I had been the only survivors, and even that had been a miracle. The doctors had said that I was the only one who should have survived. Mason sensed my discomfort and changed the subject thankfully.

When we reached the common room, I was instantly bombarded by the girl from earlier. Aaron's knew toy. The girl smiled thinly when she saw me.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Dragomir princess." She sneered and I tried to move past her but she shoved me back.

"No, please, stay and chat a while." She said. I looked around to see the rest of the royals sneering. Except Aaron. He just stood there next to the girl that I now remembered as Mia Rinaldi, a junior non-royal Moroi.

"So, _princess_, where did you get that outfit? A garage sale? I would have thought that the _Dragomir princess_ would have dressed in something more designer, certainly. I thought she had standards." Her words were dripping with scorn and I fought back tears. Andre wouldn't have had to deal with something like this. Andre would have been a strong royal.

Suddenly, Rose came out of the blue and grabbed Mia by the shoulder, nearly tossing her three feet away.

"She does have standards, which is why you're done talking to her."

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	4. Chapter 4

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Beta – RozaRocks – Be gentle with me it's my 1st time being a Beta :)

Chapter 4

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mia exclaimed, recovered. Her screech caused the rest of the commons to become silent, much like this morning. The attention was on the three of us now.

"Are you lost, little girl? The elementary school is over on west campus." Rose said haughtily. I tried sending her calming waves again but she gave me a look that immediately made me stop.

"Don't you ever touch me again? You screw with me, and I'll screw you right back." Mia said, dusting off her purple dress, which didn't help her much against Rose's insult. I shook my head at Rose and thankfully she listened.

"And if you mess with either of us again, I'll break you in half. If you don't believe me, go ask Dawn Yarrow about what I did to her in ninth grade. You were probably at nap time when it happened." Rose said and I winced internally. Rose had beaten Dawn against a tree a couple years back for teasing her about her mom. Dawn had broken her arm and dislocated her shoulder before the guardians had pulled Rose off of her.

"Ugh. C'mon Aaron. Let's stop wasting our time with losers like this." Mia said, practically having to drag Aaron away. I gave him a small smile and he smiled back hesitantly. Aaron was nice and cute, but definitely not the aggressive type.

"You okay?" Rose asked, turning to me. I nodded glumly. "Any idea who I just threatened to beat up?"

"Not a clue." I said. Although I knew Mia's name, I had never really heard of her until now. All I remember of her is that she used to hang around near Jesse and his best friend Ralf a lot. Rose started to lead me toward the lunch line and I shook my head at her.

"I gotta go see the feeders." I said and started to walk to a hallway offset from the rest of the commons. Feeders were what we called humans who willingly gave blood. I was glad that I wouldn't have to use Rose as my primary blood source from now on. I hated how weak it left her.

"Sure." Rose said, obviously forcing a smile.

When we got to the feeding room, there was thankfully no line. Most Moroi either took their feedings for breakfast or dinner, so I usually liked to go when there was no rush. A dark haired Moroi sat at a desk flipping through a magazine and I regarded her carefully before she noticed us. She looked at Rose speculatively but didn't stop her from following me into a feeding area.

An old, plump woman sat in a cubicle, looking very dazed. When she saw me she smiled with excitement over the bite that was about to come. The endorphins were very addicting for humans, which is why most of them didn't have a problem with being bitten.

"Welcome back, Princess." The feeder said to me and I nodded uncomfortably. Something about the feedings made me uncomfortable. I had gotten so used to feeding off of Rose that it would take some time to get used to this new setting. The feeder however had no such qualms and eagerly turned her neck to give me better access. I lowered my fangs to her neck and saw her squirm with anticipation before I bit her. I felt the familiar rush of blood into my mouth and instantly grew stronger because of it.

When I finished, we moved to the lunch line and Rose instantly started piling her tray high with food. I only grabbed a yogurt. It's not that I don't like food; it's just that Moroi rarely have an appetite after drinking blood.

"So, how were classes this morning?" Rose asked once we took a seat at an empty table. Most students had left since there were only 15 minutes left in the period.

"Okay. A lot of stares and whispers. A lot of questions about where we were." I chose not to mention what happened with Jesse to Rose. Like I said, it was probably nothing. Keeping my emotions calm, she didn't suspect a thing.

"Same here." She said and took a colossal bite into her hamburger. The one thing Rose loved more than me was food. "They aren't bothering you are they?" She asked, giving me a look. Stay calm, Lissa. Stay calm.

"No—it's fine." I said, holding back a gulp. I knew she could feel it, so I asked for her schedule to change the subject. She took mine as well.

1st Period Advanced Guardian combat techniques

2nd Period Bodyguard theory and personal protection 3

3rd Period Weight Training and Conditioning

4th Period Senior Language Arts (Novices)

LUNCH

5th Period Animal Behavior and Physiology

6th Period Precalculus

7th Period Moroi culture 4

8th Period Slavic Art

"Nerd." She said handing mine back. "If you were in stupid math like me, we'd have the same afternoon schedule." We started walking towards the animal behavior room when she stopped me suddenly. "Why are you taking elemental basics? That's a sophomore class."

I looked away from her. I was taking that class because I hadn't specialized yet.

"Because seniors take specialized classes." I said and I could tell that she instantly felt bad for bringing it up.

A long time ago, Moroi had used their magic openly, averting natural disasters and helping with things like food and water production. We didn't need to do that as much anymore, but the magic is still in our blood. It burned in us and made us want to reach out the earth and wield our power. Academies like this existed to help Moroi control our magic and learn how to do increasingly complex things with it. We also had rules that surrounded magic, rules that had been in place for centuries and were strictly enforced.

All Moroi had a small ability in each element. When they got to be around our age, students "specialized" when one element grew stronger than the others: earth, water, fire, or air. Not specializing was like not going through puberty. Apparently, I haven't gone through puberty yet.

"Is Ms. Carmack still teaching that? What'd she say?" Rose asked me.

"She says she's not worried. She thinks it'll come."

"Did you—did you tell her about—"

"No. Of course not." I said, shaking my head. With that, the subject dropped. We rarely brought it up anyway.

"Lissa! Wait!" Natalie said rushing up to us and making us stop walking. "I was talking to Headmistress Kirova on the way and she said we might get to be roommates! Isn't that great?" Natalie said and I smiled in answer. I liked Natalie, but she was just so plain. Erica, one of Natalie's few friends, looked at us suddenly.

"What'd you do for blood, Lissa?" She said and Natalie shushed her. Rose jumped in, because I was never good at lying.

"Oh, it's easy. There are humans everywhere willing to do it."

"Really?" Natalie asked, wide eyed. I sighed in relief. It would have been hell if anyone had found out about me drinking from Rose. It was highly looked down upon if a Dhampir let a Moroi drink from them. I shot Rose a grateful look and she smiled and winked.

"Hey, Natalie. Who's Aaron's new girlfriend?" Rose said, interrupting whatever Natalie had been chattering about. Natalie looked over and her gaze grew dim.

"Oh. Mia Rinaldi. She's a year younger than us and recent star of the royal clique." Natalie said.

"Why is she so pissed at us?" Rose asked. I had been wondering the exact same thing.

"I don't know. Maybe she's just jealous or something…" Natalie started up her chatter again and I tuned her out. That was until Jesse Zeklos strolled up to the table. Please don't bring it up I silently wished and thankfully he only seemed interested in Rose.

"Hey, Rose. Welcome back. Still breaking hearts?" He asked. I looked back and forth between them. I knew that Rose though Jesse was some serious material, and I longed to tell her what he had said to me earlier, but it just wouldn't come to my lips.

"Are you volunteering?" Rose said, giving him her man eating smile that she used on pretty much every hot guy.

"Let's hang out sometime and find out." He said before walking away. Before he did, he gave me a long look and in his eyes I saw something hungry and vicious. "Lissa." He said and I couldn't help but stiffen. I knew his threats didn't mean anything but that look… that look meant something else. Thankfully he walked away and I knew Rose wanted to ask me what was up, but I just shook my head. She gave me a concerned look before shrugging. She knew to respect my privacy.

Rose and I thankfully got to sit together in our afternoon classes. Rose talked to everybody while I just sat there and listened. Was Jesse right? Was I really Rose's puppy dog? No, of course not. Rose and I were best friends. She would do anything to protect me, and I would do the same for her.

When classes ended, Rose pulled me aside and stared deep in my eyes. She nodded after a while and sighed.

"All right. We're not staying here anymore. I'm going to find a way to get us out." She said and I looked at her wide-eyed. I couldn't do that to her. She was so happy here.

"I don't know if we should go. Maybe—maybe we should stay." I said and looked at her. She gave me a confused look.

"What?" She said, blinking. She never thought of herself. Only me.

"I saw you, Rose. I saw you talking to the other novices during class, talking about practice. You miss that." I told her. She shook her head defiantly and I sighed.

"It's not worth it, Lissa. Not if you aren't happy." She argued. I knew she would say something like that.

"It might be better," I countered. "I haven't had as many…you know things happen in a while. I haven't felt like anyone was watching us." Before we left, I had always felt like I was being followed.

We argued for a little longer. She finally agreed but gave me a few conditions. I almost laughed at receiving a Rose ultimatum.

"Stay with Natalie. Don't go near the other royals."

My amusement turned to astonishment. "Are you serious?"

"Sure. You never liked them anyway."

"You did."

"No. Not really. I liked what they could offer. All the parties and stuff."

"And you can go without that now?" I must have looked skeptical, because she shrugged as an answer.

"Sure. We did in Portland."

"Yeah, but that was different." I felt my eyes staring off, not really focused on any one thing. "Here…here I've got to be a part of that. I can't avoid it."

"The hell you do. Natalie stays out of that stuff." Rose looked at me and I knew she was right. But I had to be like Andre. Andre would stay with the royals.

"Natalie isn't going to inherit her family's title," she retorted. "I've already got it. I've got to be involved, start making connections. Andre -"

"Liss," she groaned. "You aren't Andre."

"He was always involved in all that stuff." It was true. Andre had been very much a part of the royal clique. Everybody knew him. Everybody expected me to be like him.

"Yeah, well," she snapped back, "he's dead now."

My face hardened. How could she say that to me? "You know, sometimes you aren't very nice."

"You don't keep me around to be nice. You want nice, there are a dozen sheep in there that would rip each other's throats to get in good with the last Dragomir princess. You keep me around to tell you the truth, and here it is: Andre's dead. You're the heir now, and you're going to deal with it however you can. But for now, that means staying away from the other royals. We'll just lie low. Coast through the middle. Get involved in that stuff again, Liss, and you'll drive yourself…"

"Crazy?" I supplied when she didn't finish. Before we had left, I had always felt things. I had been really depressed, and I had hurt myself badly. I knew she didn't understand, and she felt bad about bringing up past things.

Now she looked away. "I didn't mean…"

"It's okay." I said, after a moment. I sighed and touched her arm. "Fine. We'll stay and we'll keep out of all that stuff. We'll 'coast through the middle' like you want. Hang out with Natalie, I guess."

I knew she wasn't happy about it. Rose had loved going to the parties and everything. She'd loved what the royals could offer. She was hot and they knew it. They kept her around for the fun of it. But, I was just in it because of expectations. The Dragomirs were one of the twelve ruling families and I was meant to have a powerful place in Moroi society. Lots of people tried to schmooze me and stuff because of it. They tried to gain a fake friendship with me. That had been what Jesse was talking about earlier.

"Rose?" A new voice said and I turned to face Guardian Belikov. "You're late for practice." He said and when he noticed me he greeted me formally. "Princess." He said, taking Rose away. I sighed and went to the only place that had offered me solace over the years. An attic in the Academy's chapel.

Slipping through a doorway in the back of the chapel, I climbed a narrow set of creaky stairs up into the attic. Here it was dark and dusty. The only light came through a large stained-glass window that fractured the faint glow of sunrise into tiny, multicolored gems across the floor.

The anxiety in me ebbed away ever so slightly as I took in the familiar surroundings. I climbed up into the window seat and leaned my head back against its side, momentarily entranced by the silence and the light.

Moroi could stand some sunlight, unlike the Strigoi, but we had to limit our exposure. Sitting here, I could almost pretend I was in the sun, protected by the glass's dilution of the rays.

Breathe, just breathe, I told myself. It'll be okay. Rose will take care of everything.

Then a low voice spoke from the darkness.

"You can have the Academy but not the window seat."

I sprang up, heart pounding. "Who's there?"

A moment later, a shape rose from behind a stack of crates, just outside my field of vision. The figure stepped forward, and in the poor lighting, familiar features materialized. Messy black hair. Pale blue eyes. A perpetually sardonic smirk.

Christian Ozera.

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't bite. Well, at least not in the way you're afraid of." He chuckled at his own joke.

I didn't find it funny. I had completely forgotten about Christian.

No matter what happened in our world, a few basic truths about vampires remained the same. Moroi were alive; Strigoi were undead. Moroi were mortal; Strigoi were immortal. Moroi were born; Strigoi were made.

And there were two ways to make a Strigoi. Strigoi could forcibly turn humans, Dhampirs, or Moroi with a single bite. Moroi tempted by the promise of immortality could become Strigoi by choice if we purposely killed another person while feeding. Doing that was considered dark and twisted, the greatest of all sins, both against the Moroi way of life and nature itself. Moroi who chose this dark path lost their ability to connect with elemental magic and other powers of the world. That was why they could no longer go into the sun.

This is what had happened to Christian's parents. They were Strigoi.

**I really hoped you liked it! Plz review because there's lots more to come and I really want you guys to see it! But alas... if there are no reviews that means that you guys don't want me writing this :( RozaRocks and I will be very sad if that happens :((**

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	5. Chapter 5

**My prayers are with those poor people and family and friends of the victims in Connecticut. Those kids never got a chance to live. I'm so sorry if you were somehow involved in that tragedy and my condolences for any horror you've gone through. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you RozaRocks for betaing! **

**Hope you enjoy and can't wait to see your reviews!**

**SHOUTOUT to RachelIvashkov and Marion for being the first two reviews and making my day!**

Chapter 5

Or rather they had been Strigoi. A regiment of guardians had hunted them down and killed them. If rumors were true, Christian had witnessed it all when he was very young. And although he wasn't Strigoi himself, some people thought he wasn't far off, with the way he always wore black and kept to himself.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. I couldn't help the fear that seeped into my words. This had always been my place and now Christian Ozera of all people was invading it.

"Taking in the sights, of course. That chair with the tarp on it is particularly lovely this time of year. Over there we have an old box full of writings of the blessed and crazy St. Vladimir. And let's not forget that beautiful table with no legs in the corner."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes and worked to get out of the room. I guess I would just have to find a new place to go. But before I could do anything, Christian blocked my way.

"Well, what about _you_?" He taunted. "Why are you up here? Don't you have parties to go to or lives to destroy?"

I felt my anger kindle and suddenly all I wanted to do was punch this guy in the nose. "Wow, that's hilarious. Am I like a rite of passage now? Go and see if you can piss of Lissa to prove how cool you are? Some girl I don't even know yelled at me today, and now I've got to deal with you? What does it take to be left alone?" My voice rose fraction by fraction until I was just about screaming in his face. But, no matter how loud I yelled, his scrutinizing and taunting expression didn't change.

"Oh. So that's why you're up here. For a pity party."

"I'm serious." I said, crossing my arms.

He shrugged and leaned casually against the sloping wall. "So am I. I love pity parties. I wish I'd brought the hats. What do you want to mope about first? How it's going to take you a whole day to be popular and loved again? How you'll have to wait a couple weeks before Hollister can ship out some new clothes? If you spring for rush shipping, it might not be so long."

"Let me leave," I said angrily, this time pushing him aside.

"Wait," he said, as I reached the door. The sarcasm disappeared from his voice. "What…um, what was it like?"

"What was what like?" I snapped, even though I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Being out there. Away from the Academy."

I hesitated for a moment before answering, caught off guard by what seemed like a genuine attempt at conversation. "It was great. No one knew who I was. I was just another face. Not Moroi. Not royal. Not anything." I looked down at the floor. "Everyone here thinks they know who I am."

"Yeah. It's kind of hard to outlive your past," he said bitterly.

It occurred to me at that moment just how hard it might be to be Christian. Most of the time, people treated him like he didn't exist. Like he was a ghost. They didn't talk to or about him. They just didn't notice him. The stigma of his parents' crime was too strong, casting its shadow onto the entire Ozera family.

Still, he'd pissed me off, and I wasn't about to feel sorry for him.

"Wait - is this your pity party now?" God, where was this snarkiness coming from? I sound more like Rose than the actual me!

He laughed, almost approvingly. "This room has been my pity party for a year now."

"Sorry," I said. "I was coming here before I left. I've got a longer claim."

"Squatters' rights. Besides, I have to make sure I stay near the chapel as much as possible so people know I haven't gone Strigoi…yet." Again, the bitter tone rang out.

"I used to always see you at mass. Is that the only reason you go? To look good?" Strigoi couldn't enter holy ground.  
"Sure," he said. "Why else go? For the good of your soul?"

"Whatever," I said. I believed strongly in God and perfecting my being and soul with His presence. "I'll leave you alone then."

"Wait," he said again. Jeez, he just didn't want to let me go. "I'll make you a deal. You can hang out here too if you tell me one thing."

"What?" I glanced back at him.

He leaned forward. "Of all the rumors I heard about you today - and believe me, I heard plenty, even if no one actually told them to me - there was one that didn't come up very much. They dissected everything else: why you left, what you did out there, why you came back, the specialization, what Rose said to Mia, blah, blah, blah. And in all of that, no one, no one ever questioned that stupid story that Rose told about there being all sorts of fringe humans who let you take blood."

I looked away, and I could feel my cheeks starting to burn. "It's not stupid. Or a story."

He laughed softly. "I've lived with humans. My aunt and I stayed away after my parents…died. It's not that easy to find blood." When I didn't answer, he laughed again. "It was Rose, wasn't it? She fed you."

A renewed fear shot through me. No one at school could know about that. Kirova and the guardians on the scene knew, but they'd kept that knowledge to themselves.

"Well. If that's not friendship, I don't know what it is," he said.

"You can't tell anyone," I blurted out. If people knew that, they would scorn us forever. I could never make my family proud and resume Dragomir control.

"Don't tell anyone." I repeated.

He stuffed his hands in his pocket and sat down on one of the crates. "Who am I going to tell? Look, go grab the window seat. You can have it today and hang out for a while. If you're not still afraid of me."

I hesitated. I wasn't afraid of Christian. Sure, he was snarky and can be mean sometimes, but he wasn't Strigoi. If anything, he was in as little danger as possible from becoming Strigoi. Gingerly, I sat down in the window seat, and unconsciously rubbed my arms to fight off the chilly air in the attic. Suddenly the air warmed up considerably and I looked at Christian in shock. His icy blue eyes met mine and I smiled kindly.

"You specialized in fire?" I said and he nodded, pulling up a broken chair.

"Now we have luxury accommodations." He said and I smiled at the joke. We continued chatting for a while after that. Just common things. But there was one question that was burning in my mind.

"Christian…please tell me about it. It's had to have been hard keeping it in for this long." I said tentatively. I knew what it was like to keep something inside, and I knew it wasn't a pleasant feeling. He looked at me and I was shocked to see tears forming in his eyes. It was a sign that he was truly vulnerable in this moment, and that he completely trusted me.

"It was terrible, Lissa. I was so young, but I still knew that they were my parents. They opened the door and I knew. I knew that they had changed. Their eyes…. They were so red, so evil. And when they just stood there, planning. Pacing the room, I knew that they wanted to take me. If it wasn't for Aunt Tasha…. I really would be Strigoi now." He said his voice cracking. Tears started to stream down his face, and I stood to put my arms around him. I let him cry and I realized something. No one fit into their description. I was not the perfect little princess, and Christian was not the loner about to turn Strigoi. We were all our own person. And we were all different.

When his tears subsided he looked up and into my eyes. "You can't tell anyone about this." He said and I smiled.

"Who am I going to tell?" I said, echoing him. I may tell Rose a lot, but she had no right to learn about this. This would stay between Christian and myself. He smiled gratefully and we heard the curfew bell and I realized how long we had been in here. We both straightened and said our goodbyes before heading in separate directions to our dorm rooms.

My first class passed by but when I went into the second, I felt my fear start to creep back. This was the class with Jesse in it. Thankfully, he hadn't arrived yet so I sat in my familiar seat next to Natalie. Looking around, I realized that Christian was in this class as well and I smiled when I saw him. He smiled back and then Natalie made me turn my head away and I tuned out her chatter once more.

"Have you thought about what I said yesterday, princess?" A foreign voice said in my ear. I jumped and whirled around to see Jesse staring at me with that hungry look in his eye again.

"Jesse. I told you yesterday and I'm telling you today, I will not join your royal pack." I said evenly, not letting my fear creep into my voice. What I said only made him angrier and his hand caught my shoulder, holding tightly. I whimpered as he squeezed tighter and my eyes widened. Surely he wouldn't do something in public, would he?

"Jesse—Jesse stop, you're hurting me." I whimpered and then I felt another hand move on top of Jesse's.

"Let her go." Christian growled. Jesse's hand was removed and I sighed in relief as the pain left. Jesse stalked away angrily and looked back at me before he took his seat across the room.

"You will become one of us, Lissa. Someday you will." Jesse growled one last time.

"Are you okay?" Christian asked, judging my face. I nodded gratefully.

"Thanks." I whispered and he smirked. 'Anytime' he mouthed as he took his seat after the teacher called him out.

Lunch came quickly and before long Rose pulled me away from Natalie's table and gave me a very long lecture about hanging around with Christian and telling him about the blood thing. I had other concerns.

"You were in my head again?" I exclaimed. "For that long?" Since she didn't mention it, it didn't seem that she was there to witness Christian's breakdown thank god. But still.

"I didn't do it on purpose." I argued. "It just happened. And that's not the point. How long did you hang out with him afterword?"

She would probably get mad if she really knew how long. "Not that long. It was kind of…fun." Not that long meaning till curfew and fun meaning we both spilled our guts.

"Well, you can't do it again. If people find out you're hanging out with him, they'll crucify you." She eyed me warily. "You aren't in to him are you?"

"No, of course not." I scoffed, but I wasn't so sure. Was I into him?

"If you're going to steal a guy, steal Aaron back." She said and I chuckled.

"Mia would claw my eyes out." I said, and it was true.

"We can take her!" Rose said, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"Whatever. I'd rather be friends now." It was true. I never liked Aaron in the first place.

"Fine. Just stay away from Christian." She repeated, and I grew slightly annoyed.

"You're overreacting. He's not going to turn Strigoi." I told her and she rolled her eyes. I didn't let her say anything else and pushed open the doors to our science class. Jesse was there, but he pretended like nothing had happened this morning, for which I was grateful. I _did not_ need Rose worrying about me more.

The two of them flirted and I felt a twinge of regret. I should tell her not to go near him. I should tell her what he did and what he said. But I really didn't want Rose worrying, and besides. She was having fun for once, and I really wanted her to enjoy that. So I let it go on.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, and I found myself in my dorm room alone. It was late and I guess I was tired, but I just couldn't focus on sleep. Tomorrow was Sunday and Rose had somehow managed to get Headmistress Kirova to let her go to church with me. No doubt still trying to spend time together.

I couldn't get Christian out of my mind. The way he smelled, the way he looked. How different he was from his reputation, how kind he was. How it would feel if he—wait. God, Lissa! What are you thinking? You can't think that about Christian Ozera! He just thinks you're some stuck up princess. He would never… No. He would never do that.

Needless to say, it was very hard to fall asleep that night.

**What did you think? Do you think the Jesse thing is going to transform into something more? Let me know!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey ya'll! Sorry it's been so long but I've had to study with finals :(( Anyway, I've only got one more final left and then I'm all yours! Well, I'm all yours for anyone who is reading this that is since I'm not getting any more reviews! I've only gotten 2 for all these chapters that I've posted :(( Thank you to my only two reviewers and I really want to hear what everyone else thinks so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEEEEEEE REVIEW! Oh, btw, there's an added scene in this chapter that I wrote myself :)**

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Chapter 6

The sermon the next morning didn't prove to be very interesting to me. I mainly just sat there with Rose and pretended to look interested as did she. The priest was saying something along the lines of, "Following God's path is never easy," Which I completely agreed with. "Even St. Vladimir, this schools own patron saint, had a difficult time. He was so filled with spirit that people flocked around him, enthralled just to listen and be in his presence. So great was his spirit, the old texts say, that he could heal the sick. Yet despite these gifts, many did not respect him. They mocked him, claiming he was misguided and confused."

It sounded a lot like my life right now. Except for the whole flocking part. Maybe there had been a time when my life was like that, but now not so much. Coasting through the middle seemed to get easier and easier, except for Christian. Despite Rose's warning, I just couldn't seem to stay away from him. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, and found that he was staring at me. When he found me looking at him, he smirked and winked and went back to pretending to be the saint that he was. Why was he looking at me? Did he feel the same? No. Of course not. I must be imagining things.

Church concluded, and I turned to Rose but she shook her head and immediately got up and headed towards the priest. I shrugged and walked outside and leaned my face towards the chilly morning air. **(A/N: by morning I mean night)**

"Hey, Lissa!" I turned to see who called my name and was surprised to see it was Aaron.

"Hey Aaron." I said, smiling. Looking around, I didn't see her…

"Mia's not here, don't worry." Aaron said and I blushed realizing he had seen me looking.

"Anyway, how've you been?" He asked.

"I've been good! And you?" I said. I couldn't tell him anything. He was just Aaron, and he was very easy to manipulate for answers.

"Good, good. So, you're never going to believe this. Abby and Xander Badica's guardians want to resign and marry eachother. Abby just told me how horrified she is. She says that their getting a house of their own." Aaron said and my eyes widened. That was almost unheard of in my world. Dhampirs usually didn't marry… let alone resign from guardian posts _to_ marry.

"You're kidding." I exclaimed. Just then, Rose came strolling up and I turned to her with excitement over this gossip.

"Rose, guess what. You know Abby Badica? And Xander? Their guardians want to resign. And _marry_ eachother." I said and her eyes widened at this scandal.

"Seriously? Are they, like, gonna run off together?" I nodded

"They're getting a house. Going to get jobs with humans, I guess." Rose looked at Aaron, who I was surprised to see turn shy. Then again, Rose did have that effect on people.

"How are Abby and Xander dealing with that?" She asked him.

"Okay. Embarrassed. They think it's stupid." He said, and then his eyes widened when he realized that he was talking to Rose. A dhampir. "Oh. I didn't mean—"

"Whatever. It _is_ stupid." She told him with a tight smile.

Dhampirs and Moroi had a strange arrangement. Dhampirs had originally been born from Moroi mixing with humans. Dhampirs couldn't reproduce with each other - or with humans. It was a weird genetic thing. Dhampirs and full Moroi could have children together, and, through another genetic oddity, their kids came out as standard dhampirs, with half human genes, half vampire genes.

With Moroi being the only ones with whom dhampirs could reproduce, the dhampirs had to stay close to us and intermingle with us. Without us, they were done. And with the way Strigoi loved picking off Moroi, our survival became a legitimate concern for them.

That was how the guardian system developed. Dhampirs couldn't work magic, but they made great warriors. They'd inherited enhanced senses and reflexes from their vampire genes and better strength and endurance from their human genes. They also weren't limited by a need for blood or trouble with sunlight. Sure, they weren't as powerful as the Strigoi, but they trained hard, and guardians did a kick-ass job at keeping us safe. Most dhampirs felt it was worth risking their own lives to make sure their kind could still keep having children.

After a little more speculation on the Badicas, Rose and I left Aaron. As we stepped outside, I heard a funny shifting sound and then something sliding. Too late, I realized what was happening, just as a pile of slush slid off the chapel's roof and onto us. It was early October, and we'd had early snow last night that had started melting almost immediately. As a result, the stuff that fell on us was very wet and very cold.

I took the brunt of it, and I yelped as icy water landed all over my body. A few others squealed nearby too, having caught the edge of the mini-avalanche.

"You okay?" Rose asked. My coat was drenched, and my platinum hair clung to the sides of my face. I was freezing and wet and I was shaking from the cold.

"Y-yeah," I said through chattering teeth.

She pulled off her coat and handed it to me. It had a slick surface and had repelled most of the water. "Take yours off." She told me. I profusely shook my head.

"But you'll be - "

"Take this."

I did, and as I slipped on her coat, I finally tuned into the laughter that always follows these situations. I avoided the eyes, instead focusing on changing out my wet jacket and into Rose's warm one.

"Wish you hadn't been wearing a coat, Rose," said Ralf Sarcozy, Jesse's best friend. "That shirt would have looked good wet." He sleazed. Rose had always held the boy's attention because of her dhampir curves and large breasts. I probably looked like an elf compared to her.

"That shirt's so ugly it should be burned. Did you get that from a homeless person?" Mia said, with her arm looped in Aaron's. Seeing as how he had survived the miraculous avalanche, I decided that there were no miracles involved. So did Rose, apparently.

"I'm sure you'd love to burn it. Oh wait—fire isn't your element is it? No, it's water. What a coincidence that a bunch just fell on us." Rose said and I shivered. Using magic against another student was strictly prohibited at school and in the Moroi world in general. The cold was starting to seep into my bones, and I couldn't stop shivering. I wondered if hypothermia was a possibility?

Things started to looked heated between Rose and Mia so I shakily walked forward and pulled on her arm. "Let's go." I said and we walked off to our respective dorms.

"You really need to teacher her a lesson, Liss." Rose said from outside the dhampir dorms.

"I'm not interested in teaching anyone a lesson." I told her, and it was true. As much as I hated Mia, I wasn't one for revenge.

"C'mon. She picks fights and talks about us behind our backs. She accused me of getting jeans from the Salvation Army yesterday." Rose said and I gave her a look and smirked.

"Your jeans _are_ from the Salvation Army." Talking to Rose drifted away the cold feeling, and my hair started to dry quickly.

"Well, yeah. But she has no right of making fun of these when she's wearing stuff from Target." Rose snorted.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with Target. I like Target."

"So do I. That's not the point. She's trying to pass her stuff off like it's freaking Stella McCartney."

"And that's a crime?"

"Absolutely. You gotta take revenge." Rose said with a solemn face.

"I told you, I'm not interested in revenge," I said and gave her a sidelong look, "and you shouldn't be either." I said and she smiled innocently. We parted ways and I headed back towards the chapel. This time for a different purpose.

Entering the chapel's attic, I gazed out the window thoughtfully. Feeling a hidden presence, I smiled.

"You can come out now." I said. When I looked, it wasn't Christian who stood there. It was Jesse, with that same hungry smile on his face.

"J-Jesse! What are you doing here?" I stammered, leaping up. His smile grew and thinned and he moved closer to me.

"I told you that you would be one of us, Lissa." He said and I looked around in fear. I hadn't realized that I was backing up until I was against the wall. He moved closer and as if in a second, he was about an inch away from me.

"Jesse, what are you doing? How did you find me?" I asked, fear in every sound of my voice.

"I followed you from the dhampir dorm. I knew when you were alone that this was the perfect time." Jesse growled and I backed away farther, if that was even possible.

"Perfect time for what?" I whispered and suddenly he jerked me to him and I let out a yelp.

"Perfect time for this." He said and proceeded to yank my shirt off. I let in a breath to scream but he saw this and put his hand over my mouth. I was now sobbing and trying to scream but everything was muffled by the force of his hand. His other hand was snaking around my body and harshly touching everything intimate. He placed my hands in flex cuffs behind my back and I struggled against them but I couldn't break free. He squeezed my breasts with his hand and I sobbed louder. Jesse was going to rape me.

"Please! Jesse stop!" I tried to yell but it just sounded garbled against his hand. He threw me to the floor and I landed hard on my shoulder. Again his hand covered my mouth and no one could hear my scream.

"Say it, Lissa! Say that you'll be one of us." Jesse yelled and I mumbled no over and over and sobbed louder. Where was Rose? Why wasn't she coming?

"Dammit!" Jesse yelled and ripped my panties off of my body and threw them somewhere. I struggled and struggled but to no avail. He wouldn't let up. He rammed his fingers inside of me and made me feel pain like I never had. Ramming and ramming, harder and harder, tears streaming down my face and me struggling to scream against his hand.

"Say that you'll be one of us! Say that you'll be a royal!" I tried moving my hands again but the cuffs restrained me and my shoulders hurt from being wrenched back so painfully. I won't, I won't, I sobbed against his hand. Suddenly, an idea came to me. I opened my mouth and bit his finger hard. The hands ramming into me stopped suddenly with Jesse's roar of pain. His hands uncovered my mouth and I screamed as loud as I could.

"Help! Somebody please help!" I screamed and felt a fist connect with my face. It hurt and briefly darkness washed over my eyes. When I focused again Jesse was on top of me and his knee was placed on my stomach in a very uncomfortable place that caused me more pain. His hand was over my mouth again and I prepared myself for the inevitable. I sobbed more and then suddenly, it all stopped. Jesse was gone and I was no longer held down. Only the flex cuffs restrained me now.

I looked up through tear filled eyes and saw Rose there, holding Jesse by the collar and punching him in the face. Jesse barely pushed Rose away and ran out of the attic, leaving Rose and I there alone. My sobs filled the room and I sat up carefully, pain in every part of my body. Rose rushed over to me and put her hands on my shoulders. I knew that she wouldn't hurt me.

"Oh, God, Lissa, are you okay? Look at me. C'mon, look at me." Rose said and I raised my eyes to hers. I still couldn't control my sobs and Rose pulled me into her arms, whispering soothing words of nonsense into my hair as she stroked my back. When my sobs quieted, she looked at me and then noticed that my arms were still restrained.

"Hold on, I'm gonna get these off, okay?" Rose said and she reached behind my back and suddenly the pressure from the cuffs was gone and I could move my arms again. I let out another sob as the pain in my shoulders increased as I tried to move them.

"Rose." I sobbed and she took me into his arms again. I cried against her shoulder as she stroked my hair.

"Shhh, Liss. It'll be okay, I promise. He'll never touch you again." Rose said and I looked at her. She had a fierce look in her eye, the one that always scared me, but now it was comforting. Rose was right, as long as she was around, he couldn't hurt me.

"He—he tried to rape me. He said that—that he would make me royal one way or another. He tried to get me to say that I would be a royal like hi—like him." I sobbed and Rose's gaze grew hard, if that that was even any more possible.

"You never have to be like them, Liss, if you don't want to. You're good, and he is not. I promise that I will never let him touch you again." Rose said and I nodded, hiccupping and trying not to cry again. Rose found my shirt and handed it to me wordlessly. I realized that she had held me while I was only in my bra and a skirt without underwear. I slipped my shirt on and tried to stand, but my knees went out from under me. Rose caught my arm and pulled me back up. She had one hand on my arm and her other arm around my shoulders, guiding me out of the chapel attic and whispering soothing words in my ear. I thank god every day that we have this bond and that she can feel me.

When we walked outside, Jesse was cowering, being held back by Guardian Belikov and Guardian Petrov. He had blood streaming down his face and they were holding him back from running.

"You bastard! How dare you do that to her!" Rose shrieked from beside me and I let out a sob. Guardian Belikov looked at me and I could tell it took all of his self-control not to just slam him to the ground right there for harming his charge.

"Look at her, Jesse! Look at what you did to her!" She shrieked and he looked in my direction. I couldn't stand looking at him and I buried my face in Rose's shoulder.

"What is going on here?" Headmistress Kirova demanded when she was the scene before her. Jesse was being held by Guardians Belikov and Petrov, and Rose still supported my weight and honestly I wouldn't have been able to stand without her. I hurt everywhere.

"Tell her, Liss. Tell her what happened." Rose said and I cried out, unable to control it. They were all waiting for an answer.

"He—he said that he followed me into the church and then he shoved me again—against the wall. He started beating me and he tied my hands and he—and he…" I couldn't finish and I started to sob again. Rose held me to him and I guess that was enough to convince Ms. Kirova and she ordered the guardians to take Jesse to her office where they would discuss him being suspended from the school. She said that Rose acted appropriately and that if she were in the same situation she would have done the same thing, in order to get Jesse out of the premises. Rose was told to take me to my room and Guardian Belikov was ordered to stand guard outside for the night after they were done with Jesse.

When we were in my room, Rose each held my hand as I sat there weakly on the bed.

"Lissa, you should get ready for bed." Rose said quietly and I nodded softly, but I didn't move. She squeezed my hand and pulled me up and supported my weight with one arm around my back.

"Don't leave. Please don't leave." I said in a frantic whisper and she smiled halfheartedly and nodded. Satisfied, I let Rose lead me into the bathroom where she sat me down and made me strip. She let me keep on my undergarments, but she needed to clean my wounds so the rest had to come off. She softly applied antibiotics and cream to the various cuts and bruises and neither of us spoke. She helped change into a pair of pajamas and we walked back out of the room. I smiled at the sight of the familiar surroundings and I realized that I had smiled a real smile. I realized that I was strong and I would get through this.

It had been arranged that Natalie, instead of coming here tonight, would sleep in her friend Erica's room so that I could be alone. I was grateful for that now, seeing as how she would just barge in and start chattering and asking questions about what I had now come to call the Jesse thing. Rose guided me to my bed carefully and we both laid down on it. It hurt to close my legs because of what Jesse had done but I still managed. Rose laid next to me and gently twirled my hair around her fingers, knowing that my hair had always been what calmed me no matter what.

Soon, I fell into a deep but restless sleep, with Jesse's face hot on my mind.

**OMG! ADDED SCENE! AHHHHHHHHHHH! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me know IN A REVIEW!**


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